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Eligible Dependants

Your family is included in your application when you seek Canadian permanent resident status through the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP).

Manitoba values the contribution that families make to our communities and to the economic development of our province, and encourages the immigration of families who intend to establish themselves as permanent residents of Manitoba.

Because the MPNP is an economic immigration program that selects business investors or skilled workers needed in the local labour market, you and your spouse, if applicable, should look carefully at MPNP eligibility criteria and decide who is the better applicant (the other person will then be listed as the applicant's spouse).

While the MPNP Skilled Worker assesses only the principal applicant's qualifications, MPNP Online also asks you to enter information about the qualifications of your spouse; this is because your spouse is eligible to work and will receive personalized employment and settlement services the government makes available to all New Manitobans.

Who is included in your MPNP application?

You must provide information, and identity documents, for all members of your immediate family, including those who will not accompany you to Canada.

Who are eligible accompanying dependants?

Your spouse (by marriage or by common-law partnership of at least one year) and your dependent children may move with you to Manitoba to settle as permanent residents.

A dependent child is defined as a child who depends on their parent for financial and other support.

Effective October 24, 2017, children qualify as dependants if they meet both of these requirements:

  • they're under 22 years old, and
  • they don't have a spouse or common-law partner.

Children 22 years old or older (also known as an overage dependent children) qualify as dependants if they meet both of these requirements:

  • they have depended on their parents for financial support since before the age of 22, and
  • they are unable to financially support themselves because of a mental or physical condition.

For more details, please see the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website for the current and previous definitions of a dependent child.

Use the IRCC online tool to check if your child qualifies as a dependant.

The exception for full-time students was removed effective Aug. 1, 2014. Young adults may apply to come to Manitoba on their own merits through the MPNP or other economic programs. (If applying to the MPNP at the same time as you they should indicate they are connected to your application.)

Fiancé(e)

A fiancé(e) is not a dependant for purposes of immigration. If your fiancé(e) intends to accompany you to Manitoba and you are not getting married before you apply to the MPNP, they will need to complete a separate MPNP application and qualify as a skilled worker applicant or business investor.

Changes in family status

You must report changes in family status (ex: you have a baby or a death in the family or an eligible accompanying dependant becomes ineligible by getting married, etc.). You must inform both the MPNP and the Government of Canada (visa office) of changes to family status before you and your dependants are issued permanent resident visas. If you fail to promptly declare new dependants, and they do not undergo medical examinations that are required in the permanent resident visa process, you may not be able to sponsor them in the future.

Declare all dependants

All existing dependants must be declared to the MPNP before you are nominated (Eligible dependants indicated in your application as not accompanying you to Canada will later require a separate application for immigration/sponsorship).

Ineligible family members

Relatives such as your parents or siblings cannot be included in your MPNP application even if they live with you. As a permanent resident, you may be able to sponsor such relatives, but the MPNP cannot assist with sponsorship applications.

Applicants may also be ineligible for immigration to Canada, if:

  • the applicant or any dependent family member (whether accompanying or not) has a serious medical condition;
  • the applicant or any dependent family member (whether accompanying or not) over the age of 18 has a criminal record; or
  • the applicant has unresolved custody or child support disputes affecting any member of the family.